Winning Madara's Trust

At this moment, Long Ye did not know whether to laugh or cry.

He had been digging tunnels underground, only to stumble by sheer coincidence into Madara Uchiha's lair.

To everyone in the Shinobi World, Madara Uchiha had been dead for many years. But Long Ye, who knew the history of the Shinobi World well, knew that Madara had indeed died—only to come back to life afterward.

Before Hashirama Senju killed him, Madara had sealed the ocular technique Izanagi within his left eye. Years later, the technique activated automatically, rewriting the reality of his death and granting him rebirth.

Without giving anything away, Long Ye glanced at Madara Uchiha's tightly shut eyes, then at the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path behind him. Finally, his gaze settled on the tubes connecting the statue to Madara's body.

He is using the statue to sustain his life. It seems his lifespan should have run out long ago.

Long Ye muttered to himself inwardly.

Even so, he did not dare act rashly.

Even at death's door, Madara still possessed the strength to kill him in an instant. After all, Madara's combat power far surpassed that of an ordinary Kage Level shinobi.

Madara Uchiha neither opened his eyes nor spoke, but that only made a chill creep into Long Ye's heart.

Fearing that Madara might attack at the slightest disagreement, Long Ye hesitated before taking the initiative to break the silence.

"My name is Long Ye. Because of the war, I was ambushed and buried underground. But I was fortunate enough to survive, so I relied on my Explosion Release to force my way through tunnels. Before I knew it, I arrived here..."

As he spoke, he watched Madara Uchiha's expression.

Yet Madara looked as though he were dead, showing no emotional response at